Regardless of religion, doctors have a duty to inform patients

This letter is in response to the editorial of July 2 “The effort to balance health care and conscience in Illinois.” I have been an OB-GYN in Chicago for 25 years and have witnessed firsthand women who were put at risk because a physician or health care system did not inform them of all of the standard of care options. This applies not only to discussing all options for an unplanned pregnancy — women have come to me asking to get their tubes tied after a recent cesarean section at another hospital. They were told it could not be done at the time of their planned c-section, when the reality is that religious objections have inhibited the provision of this standard of care. I find this to be an especially hard discussion. I need to explain that they could have avoided an additional surgery, with a newborn at home, if their providers informed them of all of their options and where they could receive them, as required now by the current Illinois law (which, important to note, is similar to those of other states).

We learn in medical school, including in my Catholic alma mater, the patient comes first. Physicians, of course, should not be required to do something they are opposed to on religious grounds, but this cannot be a reason to give patients incomplete information about their options that are the standard of medical care. I was taught to explain to patients what options were available and where they could receive them.

It is quite an understatement to say that the current political climate makes it a challenging time to be a women's health provider, so it is even more essential to keep our focus on the best care for the women who come to us. We must be transparent. Women need to trust that they will get the complete standard of care options (or be told where to get them) from any provider in the state. Crisis pregnancy centers need to be transparent that they are not medical facilities (despite the white coats) but are religiously affiliated and will counsel women only within the center's religious perspective. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that it violates the First Amendment to require these centers to discuss options including abortion, but if they clearly say that they are religious counseling centers, the women would know that to expect.

The Tribune is right, the Illinois law is “a reasonable effort to accommodate the conscience of medical providers and the interests of patients.” Let’s show the rest of the country how to achieve this balance.